Finally, the long delayed CD reissue of Archie Fisher's seminal late-70s release,
The Man With a Rhyme. Arguably Fisher's finest album ever, it certainly
contains some of his most beloved renditions of traditional material, including
"The Wounded Whale" and "Western Island," as well as his own stark and spooky
"Witch of the West-mer-lands" and the lovely "Dark Eyed Molly." Long-time concert
favorites such as "The Echo Mocks the Corncrake," "Welcome Royal Charlie," and
"Jock Stewart" also make their debut.

Fisher's smooth, silky voice was at its best, and he was backed by a formidable
and sensitive list of musicians, including Lorraine Lee, Ann Mayo Muir, Lani Herrmann,
Kathy Westra, and Wendy Grossman.

The CD version adds the haunting and lovely "Helen of Kirkconnell Lea," culled
from the original recording sessions. The sound has been beautifully remastered
and polished to a fine sonic sheen, and the original (and extensive) liner notes
and lyrics have been faithfully reproduced.

(LBo, Dirty Linen #73, Dec '97/Jan '98)

Notes by Archie Fisher

Although I was born an urban Scot in the city of Glasgow, I had two advantages
in my parents being an island mother who still breaks into song as often as the
blackbird and a father who had a repertoire that ranged from ballad fragments
and music-hall to his first love - opera.

To say that my six sisters acted as a catchment area for fellow musicians would
not be far from the truth, but most of all, they acted as my private audience,
and I sang for them before I had the courage to play before others.

The songs I sing are my interpretations of other singers' inspirations. Seldom
have I taken a song from the cold page; they tend to come more from a warm heart.
Now they are as much yours as they were ever mine.

My thanks for their care and dedication go to (my new sisters) "The Ladies of
the Lake" - Wendy, Kathy, Lani and Annie, and also to Lorraine Lee, whom I think
I must have met in another life somewhere. From now on, there will always be an
empty space when I play the music they helped me to record. And finally, my love
to the whole Paton household.

Archie Fisher

Archie Fisher

exemplifies all that is good about the folksong revival. His deep respect
for the older musical traditions of his native Scotland enables him to approach
them creatively; his understanding of those traditions is such that he has been
able to compose a new ballad ("The Witch of the West-mer-lands") that could easily
assume a place among the classic ballads compiled by Francis James Child during
the latter part of the last century.

A superbly inventive guitarist, Archie's accompaniments are always appropriate
to the song: never distorting it, never overwhelming it. Whether it be a rich
underscoring of the original air or an exquisite counter-melody reflecting and
complementing it, there is a satisfying sense of rightness in all of Archie's
arrangements.

His singing can be warm and tender - gentle, without sacrificing the strength
that has sustained the tradition for so many centuries. Archie is a sophisticated
person, yet he is able to approach the sentimental without self-consciousness.
One is always reluctant to use the rather indefinable term charisma, but there
is a quality about this young man that invites such a description. Perhaps it
is a combination of the kind of sensitivity that creates in him an unusual empathy,
lending depth to his artistry, and a rare measure of native Celtic charm. Whatever
it is, it is certain that you will sense it, too, as you listen to this, his first
American recording.

Sandy Paton

Folk-Legacy Inc. - Sharon, CT

TWA BONNIE MAIDENS

Part of a longer and rather flowery song about the flight to Skye of Bonnie Prince
Charlie after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden, when, disguised as an old woman,
the Young Pretender and Flora MacDonald deceived the redcoat sentries. The air
is also known as "Plannxty George Brabazon." The corrie in the first verse is
"a hollow space or excavation in a hillside."

There were twa bonnie maidens and three bonnie maidens Cam'ower the Minch and
cam'ower the main, Wi' the wind for their way and the carrie for their hame, They
are dearly welcome to Skye again,

Come along, come along, wi' yor boatie and
yer song,

Fo my hey, bonnie maidens, my twa bonnie maids,

For the nicht it is dark and the redcoat is
gone

And you're dearly welcome to Skye again.

There is Flora, my honey, see neat and sae bonnie,

And ain that is tall and handsome withal.

Put one for my queen and the other for my king

And they're dearly welcome to Skye again.

There's a wind in the tree and a ship on the sea,

To my hey, bonnie maidens, my twa bonnie maids,

By the sea mullet's nest I will watch ower the main

And you're dearly welcome to Skye again.

WELCOME, ROYAL CHARLIE

I have a soft spot for the Chief Lochiel mentioned in this song, for the story
goes that he talked Prince Charlie out of ransacking my native city of Glasgow
when its burghers refused to supply the retreating Jacobite army with shoes and
supplies. Charlie was not always welcome in some places as this song implies.
If he had been, the result of the '45 rebellion might have been very different.